A student planning a cafeteria ordering app writes four separate tasks on sticky notes: display the menu, record each item ordered, calculate the total with tax, and print a receipt. She plans to code and test each task on its own. Which computational thinking practice is she primarily using?

Decomposition, because she is breaking one large problem into smaller, manageable parts

Abstraction, because she is hiding unnecessary details of the menu

Pattern recognition, because she is finding similarities among the four tasks

Algorithm evaluation, because she is comparing the efficiency of possible solutions

Python scores = [88, 92, 75, 64] i = 0 while i <= len(scores): print (scores[i]) i += 1 A student uses the loop above to print every score in a list. What happens when the code runs?

It prints the four scores, then stops with an index-out-of-range error

It prints all four scores and ends normally

It prints only the first three scores

It prints nothing because the condition is false at the start

Python def count_down(n): if n == 0: return print (n) count_down(n - 2) count_down(5) A student's recursive countdown is shown above. What happens when count_down(5) is called?

It prints 5, 3, 1, -1, -3, ... until a RecursionError occurs

It prints 5, 3, 1 and then stops

It prints 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 and then stops

It prints nothing, because 5 never equals 0

GACE Computer Science (725)

Free GACE Computer Science (725) Practice Questions

10 sample questions for the GACE Computer Science (725), with the correct answer and an explanation for each. No account needed. Try each one before you open the answer.

Sections covered on the exam: Algorithms and Computational Thinking, Quicksort Partition, Programming Concepts and Development, Instructional Practices in Computer Science, Impacts of Computing, Computing Systems and Architecture, Data and Information, Independent vs Chained Ifs, Software Development Practices, Networks and the Internet, Emerging Technologies, Spreadsheet Aggregation, Accumulator Initialization, Palindrome Checking, Dictionary Counting.

Question 1 · Algorithms and Computational Thinking
A student planning a cafeteria ordering app writes four separate tasks on sticky notes: display the menu, record each item ordered, calculate the total with tax, and print a receipt. She plans to code and test each task on its own. Which computational thinking practice is she primarily using?
- A.Abstraction, because she is hiding unnecessary details of the menu
- B.Decomposition, because she is breaking one large problem into smaller, manageable parts
- C.Pattern recognition, because she is finding similarities among the four tasks
- D.Algorithm evaluation, because she is comparing the efficiency of possible solutions
Show answer and explanation
Answer: B. Decomposition, because she is breaking one large problem into smaller, manageable parts
Splitting a complex problem into smaller subproblems that can be solved and tested independently is decomposition. Abstraction (the most tempting distractor) means filtering out irrelevant detail to focus on what matters, which is not what the sticky-note list does.
Question 2 · Programming Concepts and Development
An O(n²) sorting routine takes 3 seconds to sort 2,000 records. About how long should it take to sort 8,000 records on the same machine?
- A.12 seconds
- B.48 seconds
- C.24 seconds
- D.192 seconds
Show answer and explanation
Answer: B. 48 seconds
Multiplying n by 4 multiplies an n² running time by 4² = 16, so 3 × 16 = 48 seconds. Twelve seconds assumes linear growth, and 192 seconds treats the growth as n³.
Question 3 · Computing Systems and Architecture
Pythontotal = 47 per_box = 12 boxes = int(total / per_box) left = total % per_box print(boxes, left)
A program packs 47 items into boxes that each hold 12 items and reports the number of full boxes and leftover items. What does it display?
- A.3 11
- B.4 11
- C.3.92 11
- D.4 1
Show answer and explanation
Answer: A. 3 11
47 / 12 is about 3.92, and int() truncates it to 3 full boxes. 47 % 12 is the remainder after 3 * 12 = 36, which is 11. Answer "4 11" rounds the quotient up, which would count a partially filled box as full.
Question 4 · Programming Concepts and Development
Pythonscores = [88, 92, 75, 64] i = 0 while i <= len(scores): print(scores[i]) i += 1
A student uses the loop above to print every score in a list. What happens when the code runs?
- A.It prints all four scores and ends normally
- B.It prints only the first three scores
- C.It prints nothing because the condition is false at the start
- D.It prints the four scores, then stops with an index-out-of-range error
Show answer and explanation
Answer: D. It prints the four scores, then stops with an index-out-of-range error
The valid indices are 0 through 3, but the condition i <= len(scores) also allows i = 4. After printing the four scores, the loop tries scores[4] and raises an IndexError. The fix is to use i < len(scores).
Question 5 · Computing Systems and Architecture
An 8-bit register uses two's complement to store signed integers. During a debugging session, a student sees the register contents 11111010. What decimal value does the register represent?
- A.250
- B.-5
- C.-6
- D.-122
Show answer and explanation
Answer: C. -6
To read a negative two's complement value, invert the bits (00000101) and add 1 (00000110 = 6), so the value is -6. Reading 250 treats the pattern as unsigned, and -5 comes from inverting without adding 1.
Question 6 · Algorithms and Computational Thinking
Pseudocodex ← 1 count ← 0 REPEAT UNTIL x > 50 x ← x * 3 count ← count + 1 END REPEAT DISPLAY(count) DISPLAY(x)
Consider the pseudocode above. What values are displayed, in order, when it runs?
- A.3, then 27
- B.4, then 81
- C.4, then 243
- D.3, then 81
Show answer and explanation
Answer: B. 4, then 81
The loop repeats until x exceeds 50: x becomes 3, 9, 27, then 81, and count is incremented each time, giving count = 4. The condition is checked only after each full pass, so x overshoots to 81; answering 3 and 27 stops one pass too early, as if the loop ended when x reached its last value at or below 50.
Question 7 · Instructional Practices in Computer Science
An O(n²) sorting routine takes 2 seconds on 1,000 records. About how long should it take on 3,000 records on the same machine?
- A.About 18 seconds
- B.About 6 seconds
- C.About 9 seconds
- D.About 27 seconds
Show answer and explanation
Answer: A. About 18 seconds
Tripling n multiplies a quadratic running time by 3² = 9, so 2 s × 9 = 18 s. The answer of 6 seconds assumes linear growth, and 27 seconds would match cubic growth (3³).
Question 8 · Programming Concepts and Development
Pythoncount = 0 n = 6 for i in range(n): for j in range(i + 1, n): count += 1 print(count)
The code above counts how many times its inner statement runs. What does it print for n = 6, and what is the growth rate of that count as n increases?
- A.21; O(n^2)
- B.15; O(n^2)
- C.15; O(n)
- D.36; O(n log n)
Show answer and explanation
Answer: B. 15; O(n^2)
For i = 0 through 5, the inner loop runs 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, 0 times, totaling 15 = n(n-1)/2, which grows quadratically. The value 21 = n(n+1)/2 would require j to start at i rather than i + 1, and calling the count O(n) ignores that the inner loop's length depends on n.
Question 9 · Algorithms and Computational Thinking
Pythondef count_down(n): if n == 0: return print(n) count_down(n - 2) count_down(5)
A student's recursive countdown is shown above. What happens when count_down(5) is called?
- A.It prints 5, 3, 1 and then stops
- B.It prints 5, 3, 1, -1, -3, ... until a RecursionError occurs
- C.It prints 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 and then stops
- D.It prints nothing, because 5 never equals 0
Show answer and explanation
Answer: B. It prints 5, 3, 1, -1, -3, ... until a RecursionError occurs
Subtracting 2 from an odd number never reaches 0, so the base case n == 0 is skipped and the calls continue into negative numbers until Python's recursion limit raises RecursionError. Using if n <= 0: as the base case would stop after printing 5, 3, 1.
Question 10 · Computing Systems and Architecture
A web page sets a button's color to #FF8000, where each pair of hex digits gives the red, green, and blue intensity from 0 to 255. What are the decimal RGB values?
- A.(255, 80, 0)
- B.(255, 128, 0)
- C.(240, 128, 0)
- D.(255, 8, 0)
Show answer and explanation
Answer: B. (255, 128, 0)
FF = 15(16) + 15 = 255, 80 = 8(16) + 0 = 128, and 00 = 0, so the color is (255, 128, 0), an orange. The (255, 80, 0) option reads the hex digits 80 as if they were a decimal number.

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